Sarah Palin on Florida School Shooting: ‘We Need to Discuss the Failure of the FBI,’ Not Second Amendment

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin offered comments about Wednesday’s mass murder at a Florida high school when she spoke with Breitbart News’s Senior Editor-at-Large Rebecca Mansour on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight on Friday. “It’s not a Second Amendment gun issue at all,” Palin said, adding, “What needs to be discussed is the failure of the FBI.”

Incompetence at the FBI — not agitation against the Second Amendment — should be a national focus related to the mass shooting in Florida, said Palin.

Adding to that assertion, Palin stated, “What needs to be discussed is the failure of the FBI. This kid who murdered all these innocent people could not have waved more red flags in front of law enforcement’s face – all those things that he did with posts, with his threats. Law enforcement called 39 times in the last number of years at his family’s home. There were so many red flags. I’m embarrassed for the FBI. The rank and file guys and gals, they work so hard. It’s the top brass. It’s a matter of priorities in the FBI, and that’s where I think the discussion needs to go.”

Since 2010, local law enforcement had been called to the family home of shooter Nikolas Cruz, according to CNN:

Broward sheriff’s deputies were called to the Cruz family home 39 times since 2010, according to documents obtained by CNN.

The sheriff’s office received a range of emergency calls that included reports of a mentally ill person, child/elderly abuse, a domestic disturbance and a missing person.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Friday there were 20 calls for service over the past “few years” pertaining to Nikolas Cruz.

Cruz regularly expressed his interest in violence and mass murder, both online and in person.

One acquaintance who knew Cruz from elementary school spoke with Miami’s CBS affiliate: “He recalled Cruz stealing peoples’ [sic] mail, throwing rocks at cars and tormenting animals. He described one incident in which he said Cruz “cornered a squirrel and was trying to throw rocks at it and kill it.”

Cruz also regularly introduced himself to people as “a school shooter.” His online comments include, “I wanna shoot people with my AR-15” and “Im going to be a professional school shooter.”

Florida Gov. Rick Scott called on FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign for “failure to take action” to prevent Cruz’s mass murder, issuing a statement:

The FBI’s failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable. The FBI has admitted that they were contacted last month by a person who called to inform them of Cruz’s “desire to kill people,” and “the potential of him conducting a school shooting.”

Seventeen innocent people are dead and acknowledging a mistake isn’t going to cut it. An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain. The families will spend a lifetime wondering how this could happen, and an apology will never give them the answers they desperately need.

We constantly promote “see something, say something,” and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act. “See something, say something” is an incredibly important tool and people must have confidence in the follow through from law enforcement. The FBI director needs to resign.

“This is such a failure. There are 17 people dead, and it could have been prevented,” said Mansour.